He wears clothes that expose his injuries,that what I think.Just in case we forget
The time he was covered up was when he had to be Ben .

Thanks erinp.  You've spotted my theory.
I'm not sure about his eye though.

and he wore long jeans for the Glee task as well and I've seen him wear the black eye and a more realistic one....
let us know what ur theory is!

oh I get it now - didnt he say in his VT that he purposely shows his metal legs off?

He did say that he likes to show his metal.

His black eye is for scaring kids, cos he looks like a pirate, or something.

He has a black eye and a blue eye ,has has said that the next eye he gets will be the "Big Brother eye". He has said that it's his way of dressing up.I  clearly watch to much BB.

Not sure about the reason for the shorts,in the early days  a lot of folk were defending him wearing shorter trousers as the prosthetic legs need adjusting at times,one is a state of the art job  that is on loan.That is why the others briefly mentioned Steve getting £30,000 of the prize fund, to buy it.Is one leg amputed at the knee and the other higher up?

He said he used to wear long trousers but when he fell over people just used to step over him thinking he was a drunk.

I think he said he got the black eye for intimidating his opponents in wheelchair basketball but his kids love it cos he looks like a pirate.

this is what his profile says.
He now wears a black glass eye which his kids love as he looks like a pirate. Steve says he chooses to wear shorts exposing his metal legs. 'I purposely walk around looking the way I do. It's better to be open about who you are.'

But he isn't just his injuries, is he?

Tricky one this subject.
In the past I have worked with disabled people for a number of years.
From this experience I could see how different people have differnt approaches to their disability and how they choose to deal with it.
I am not saying there is a right or wrong. There are many aspects and many answers.
I am also aware that there are forumers who themselves have a good deal of first-hand experience of living with disability.
But I choose just to look at one aspect of it.
I have known people who have desperately wanted to overcome their disability, to be regarded as just another ordinary person, to integrate if you like into society and merge as much as possible into society. (And yes, society itself does not make this easy to do.)
I have also known people who resented their disability. For whom it was such a blow that the stuffing was knocked right out of them. A life of resentment cannot be too happy.
I have also known those who decide to make their disability work for them rather than against them.
And it's this aspect I have in mind here.
You see the trouble I have seen people who 'use' their disability for attention, to make themselves feel noticeable and special. A danger is that they may be identified by their disability and little more.
Another danger - and I have seen numbers of examples - is that it can easily lapse into self pity. Now that attitude to a disability is the one I find very sad. By definition doomed to be unfilfilled.


I promise you that I am not being contentious. I am simply musing over what may be Steve's true attitude to his disability.
It was suggested very early in the series that he would get some sort of sympathy vote.
Is he defying it, integrating himself and playing it down as far as is possible?
Or is he using it to gain acknowldgement, fame, attention or even pity?
As I said, a tricky topic. And one I suspect with no "right or wrong" answers, but one with a different answer for each individual.

Please don't argue about it folks.    (I'm sorry for the length of the post - I know that is often off-putting.)

The only thing I admire about Steve, is his attitude towards his injuries.

I don't think he asks for pity, or more help than he needs, and I admire the 'show your metal' attitude. Too many parts of our society are hidden away, until they become a shock to people, when confronted with the truth.

Going on that argument Brisket are you saying that people with disfiguring birthmarks should hide them for fear of drawing attention to themselves?

I have a mild disability. It is quite disfiguring. I spent years trying NOT to draw attention to it by disguising it.
Now I don't care anymore and just wear what I feel comfortable in. Mostly people don't notice or else they are too polite to say anything.

However Brisket, whether you meant to or not, you have now made me think twice.

Thanks for that.

Really interesting and thought provoking post Brisket
Hope this doesn't sound too trivial by comparison but my twin sis has a v v slight disabilty i.e. she can't straighten her arm more than about 45 degrees following a bad break to her elbow and has a massive scar about 12" long and half an inch wide, so for ages after she first did it she would only wear long sleeves... Ten years ago, on hol in Cornwall, on a really hot day, we convinced her to wear a strappy sundress and that 'no-one would notice/blink an eye,' she did and she looked lovely..... 10 mins into our daytrip in Polperro a drunk shouted out to her: "Oi you with the f'ing great scar on your arm"

......Anyways Steve is not nice, full stop, and can't imagine he was nice before his injuries

Yes....I don't care for him in other ways, but then I don't know the man either

Oh and another thing......while BB has been on air, we have had some very hot weather here and long trousers would have been extremely uncomfortable...this doesn't explain why Keever was in a hoody in 32F however

bloody typical.....I always think of Amanda Redman who has very noticeable burn scarring...she wears what she wants where she wants and well done her. People aren't their injuries etc, they are just people who happen to have been injured

No I'm not saying that Isadora. (And I'm delighted that wear what you feel is best for you.)
It's not very easy to explain, but I suppose to summarise I was saying that different people have - understandably - different ways of coming to terms with their own disability (or not coming to terms as the case may be.) What suits one person, may not suit another.
People will have different ways of discovering their own self-worth and sense of well-being.
I think the response to disability which I find hardest to understand is when the person seems to live in a state of self pity. It may get  attention from others but I can't help feeling they are thwarting themselves, because it prevents a state of fulfilment.
Thanks for your courteous response Isadora.
Good wishes to you.

And Supercal.....  Thanks for your story. There's always somebody isn't there ready to show their ignorance and insensitivity.

Good post Brisket, and I have to admit some of the points you raise I have wondered about myself.   I can't imagine what it must be like to live with  that level of disability, but I agree with Super.... he doesn't seem a very nice person

I admire and respect Steve for what he went through, how he has coped with his disability and all the good work he does.  He must be an inspiration to alot of disabled people.

Brisket - I know what you are trying to say. I respect what you are trying to say but to be honest I just think it is too contentious.
Perhaps it is the sort of person that they are that makes them feel sorry for themselves and they would feel sorry for themselves if they did not have a good reason - do you see what I mean?
In other words, if they did not have what could be termed a disability, it could be something else.
God I am probably not helping..

With respect, that is very very patronising.

Indeed I do see what you mean. An excellent point Isadora.
I expect you are right about it being contentious.
I hesitated some time before posting it.
(I may have been unwise.) However I think I now have such affection for GaGa and the forumers that I felt it would be safe to post it.
You have me feeling a bit anxious now.

No don't.I bet if we were having this discussion face to face it would be far easier. Just writing things down sometimes makes it look worse than it is. Also it is difficult to say what we want to say because no matter what you think or not think, it will be misconstrued. I have just done it myself.

I so agree about the difficulties of not being face to face.
Thanks for understanding Isadora.